Cargo baskets as currently used in oil industry typically include a steel angle iron frame having expanded metal side walls, a floor, and either three skids or the like for providing support and allowing a fork lift to engage thereunder, or four pad eyes situated at opposing corners, each pad eye for engaging a cable to form a lifting sling.
Typically, these bins are of such a quality and construction that the weight of the contents must be monitored or the baskets can be overweighed and fail during use, which can result in serious injuries and damage. Space is often quite limited in the environment in which these lifting baskets are employed, and often users of these prior art bins will stack them upon one another, even though the bins are not configured or reinforced for stacking, which can result in failure of the lower bins due to excessive weight, and/or the collapse of the stacked bins as they do not nest or interlock with the bin upon which they are placed.
Prior art bins also tend to either be specialized to receive only a specific item, or are only an open bin area for receiving items piled upon one another. The prior art is believed to have failed to provide a modular template system for the placement into an existing bin to temporarily convert same to a specific, customized transport and storage system.
Dumping of the contents form prior art bins can also be a problem; flipping an open top bin via a crane involves multiple personnel, requires a crane, and can be quite dangerous. Specialized dump baskets can be expensive and dangerous, such as baskets having false floors which open upon the pulling of a pin or the like.
The prior art has thereby failed to provide a cargo bin which provides a heavy duty, “failsafe” construction which can handle the weight of almost any contents placed therein, while providing a stackable and dumpable system which is economical, safe and effective.